Many individuals are perplexed as to why or how others become hooked to drugs. They may incorrectly believe that drug users lack moral convictions or drive and may easily quit using drugs.
Substance addiction is a complicated disease that requires more than good intentions and a strong desire to overcome. Drugs alter the brain, which makes quitting difficult, even for those who want it to.
Fortunately, there are several types of solutions to addiction, and one of them is sober services that exist all over the US. In this article, we will get a deeper understanding of addiction and how sober services can be of great help when it comes to the post-rehab process.
What Is Drug Addiction?
There are many ways to describe addiction. But the best one is that it is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use, which can be compulsive or challenging for some people to control despite harmful consequences.
The initial decision on whether or not someone will take drugs, in general, is not voluntary.
Repeated usage leads them into having changes inside their brain where they will have issues controlling themselves when faced with intense urges towards more potent substances.
Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that is caused by changes in our brains.
These persistent effects of drugs on mental health may cause people who quit or reduce their use to experience an increased craving for it even years after quitting, which is why drug addicts have relapsing disorders.
They have an elevated risk of returning to active usage once again despite complete recovery from past use disorders.
While it is common for people to relapse, this does not mean that treatment did not work. As with other chronic health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, patients need ongoing care and adjustment of their plans based on what they respond best to.
It will help ensure the patient remains stable in recovery while still staying active.
How Does It Affect Our Brain?
Dopamine is the chemical messenger of motivation. It motivates people to repeat behaviors needed for survival, like eating and spending time with loved ones.
A properly functioning reward system floods your brain in dopamine when you do something desirable or rewarding. It also becomes addictive because too much flooding will make someone feel crazy happy all day long (and then they will want more).
Drug use leads to tolerance and adaptation in the brain's reward circuit. As a person continues using drugs, this reduces their high compared with when first taking it – an effect known as desensitization or physiological dependence (not just psychological).
They may need higher doses of certain substances for pleasure than before because their brains have adapted such that even small amounts will not cause enough response anymore.
These changes often lead people away from things like food enjoyment, sex appetite, etc., which can also happen if one uses harder-core illegal ones too much over long periods.
Why Are Some People Addicted To Drugs But Others Aren’t?
There are no specific factors that can predict a person's usage of drugs. It can have mixed factors that help influence the risk for addiction. Here are the factors that can influence and combine that leads an individual to addiction:
People are born with a certain amount of risk for addiction. Gender and ethnicity can have significant effects on who becomes addicted because gender may impact how often someone is exposed to drugs.
The ethnic background could play into pre-existing conditions such as mental illness, which some people struggle with more than others when handling stressful situations in life.
A person’s environment, especially the early years of life, can have a great impact on their likelihood of drug use.
Factors such as peer pressure and physical or sexual abuse are common in some environments.
Others guide parents who teach character-building skills that will help them become better people later on down the line when faced with tough decisions about drugs.
Adolescents are more likely to become addicted if they use drugs at an early age. The neural development of adolescents makes them particularly susceptible, as it controls decision-making skills and self-control, which can lead teens into risky behavior like drug abuse.
A Solid Foundation To Recovery
What we need most from people is support and assistance in taking the path to sobriety. And sober companions will help you on this track, so it's time for some company.
Sober services exist all over the US, but building a team has never been more crucial than now. Together, let us make this recovery come alive.
Many individuals are perplexed as to why or how others become hooked to drugs.